I understand the apprehension some may have with changing a web community they have been a part of for many years
but it doesn't have to even be that drastic. As Argel mentioned earlier, just making Perl-Blue the default
for first time visitors and Anonymous Monks alike would be a nice improvement.
Simple as it is, I like the design of Perl.org. I'm not suggesting we copy it,
merely that a design refresh does not have to be so dramatic and upsetting to
it's users.

All of the UI could stay exactly where it is. Maybe simply making the site
look less — ahem — tabular? We could even try it as a style theme so monks can test it out.

I don't think people will switch to language XYZ because of a community's
dated website design. The content and members will always be what's most
important but a set of nice drapes and an area rug could go a long way to
making it more welcoming.

Who knows, we may even crack 5% brand recognition ;—)

"...the adversities born of well-placed thoughts should be considered mercies rather than misfortunes." — Don Quixote

One, I'm not concerned with the majority of perl hackers abandoning perl. I'm more concerned with the number of jobs that have been over taken by php, and how this has led to a misconception of perl not being as valuable. If you go to the php forums, you'll see that by and large, they look a like better than this one. My point isn't to criticize this site for the sake of hurting anyone's feelings, but because I think the community as a whole needs to asses the reality of what's going on and do what it can to encourage others to pick perl over php (in particular). I know most of you all could care less, but you're already here and know how wonderful perl is. What about the guy that's trying to convince his dipshit manager that perl is the way to go? His manager would look at this site and probably not take it very seriously.

I hate marketing as much as the next guy. I agree with Bill Hicks, that if you're in marketing, you should kill yourself. But, hey, we live in a world where appearances are important. Why not revamp the site and make it look better for marketing purposes?

I totally expect to be flamed for this post, but whatever. I know my intentions are good.

2) I'm not much of a web designer. I don't think that warrants a "well, don't say anything if you can't fix it" kind of response either. There are plenty of good UI and Web Designers out there that can skin this thing.

Maybe a fund drive where we can donate enough money so a web designer can be paid to make it look better...or, if we have someone here in the community that can make it look pro, then there you go.

3)I like the idea of making it look more how the perl.org site looks. Something modern and tasteful.

Having come from designing sites using PHP and PHP frameworks I'm not
really worried about the look of this site driving someone to PHP. PHP serves
a certain group of people. When it doesn't they go elsewhere. (I came to
Perl.) Everyone learns a language for certain reasons. When a language doesn't
meet those reasons they will look elsewhere.

Again, that doesn't mean we can't make this site a little more visually welcoming. I would be up for working on the design (alone or with help) if that's what the community asks me to do. It's the least I can do for what this site has done
for me.

"...the adversities born of well-placed thoughts should be considered mercies rather than misfortunes." — Don Quixote

You seem to have the strange notion that Perl is only used for web development. I've use Perl, professionally, almost on a daily basis since 1995. But my current job is the first gig I've had where having Perl skills were mandatory to land the job. Remember, there's more to IT than being a webmonkey.

What about the guy that's trying to convince his dipshit manager that perl is the way to go? His manager would look at this site and probably not take it very seriously.

Yeah, really. The first thing a "dipshit manager" is going to do is look up perlmonks, and dismiss a language based on the appearance.

I like the idea of making it look more how the perl.org site looks.

I guess "dipshit manager"s never look at perl.org, but only look at perlmonks. Because, it used to be that perl.org looked "like 1995 all over again" as well. Now, after its makeover, there wasn't a sudden influx of "dipshit manager"s going for Perl instead of PHP because of the shiny new looks of perl.org.

What evidence do you have that indicates that "1995-ish" appearance of perlmonks is bad for perl, which also explains the new look of perl.org (and perl.com) didn't change anything?

Yeah, really. The first thing a "dipshit manager" is going to do is look up perlmonks, and dismiss a language based on the appearance.
You are missing the whole point, appearances count. And in some cases only appearances count. Do you think everybody takes the pain to do full analysis of stuff before they use? Most stuff gets used because everybody else is using it, its famous and looks good.

I don't think people will switch to language XYZ because of a community's dated website design

Well to be frank and blunt appearances account for major reasons why somebody chooses to use something. Most programmers use some stuff because everybody else is using it. Few put in the effort to analyze and use, everybody else goes by the buzz.